Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott started for Aston Villa against RB Salzburg on Thursday
Harvey Elliott of Aston Villa
Harvey Elliott of Aston Villa(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
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Arne Slot remained coy on Harvey Elliott’s situation when asked about the Aston Villa loanee on Friday.
The 22-year-old midfielder started his first match in 123 days on Thursday night, playing from the off against RB Salzburg.
Villa won 3–2 to secure a top-two finish in the Europa League league phase. Morgan Rogers and Tyrone Mings levelled the game in the second half before Jamal Jimoh-Aloba scored a late winner.
Elliott’s return to the Villa side came as a surprise to many, with Unai Emery revealing that the club will not activate the 10-game trigger to buy the Liverpool midfielder for £35 million.
Now just four appearances away from triggering the obligation to buy, there have been suggestions that Villa could reach an agreement with Liverpool to remove the clause.
That would allow Elliott to feature for Villa in the final third of the season without any obligation attached, but Slot had little to say about the midfielder when asked during his Friday morning press conference.
“First of all, it was very pleasing to see him on the pitch,” Slot started. “He is one of the promising players of England, winning the Euros for the Under-21s last summer.
“I think his situation is clear. He's an Aston Villa player at this moment in time. So that's all I can say about it."